essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jun 28, 2010 14:30:50 GMT -5
Callie stumbled back into the dark studio only a few minutes later. This time lights lit up various sections of the large room and she didn’t have to focus on her feet as she carefully walked. This time she could focus on other various important things floating through her mind, such as where everyone was.
They were no longer huddled around the table and seemed to be relaxing on a large sofa in a corner. To her dismay they all were wearing their tuxedo jackets. The folding chair that she had left the coat on earlier seemed strangely empty and sad as she grazed past it.
Callie sighed as the coffee machine came within her grasp.
“Did the manager get everything?” Sharon paused. “Hello, Callie…?” Callie awoke from her first enjoyable sip of coffee that she cradled in her hands. “Yep, no problem! He said everything was perfect.” After another mouthful of refreshing caffeine Callie opened her eyes and swiftly turned around to face Sharon.
“And the manager also suggested to me that the guys get interviewed by a large local paper. He said he had a contact that would be happy to do it!”
“Well that’s very kind of him. I’ll sure the guys would love to.”
“Really? You think they will be fine with it?” She was skeptical.
“Of course Callie. They are exhausted and will most likely be even more cranky by the end of the day, but I’m sure we can convince them if I promise a shortened sound check later this afternoon.”
Callie laughed as she took another swig of coffee. “You’re right, they will be more than thrilled!” Callie handed Sharon the business card crumbled between her fingers and the cup she cradled.
...ps.... yes you will learn whose jacket is was... soon-ish
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jun 28, 2010 14:32:21 GMT -5
Callie slumped down in the empty chair nearby and slowly drifted off to sleep as the studio moved busily around her. She was awoken later by a loud ominous voice that seemed to blast right into her dreams. Unfittingly ruining the same continuous dream she had the night before: Dancing with Paul was interrupted by:
“OK OK OK NOW!!! IS EVERYBODY READY! MIKES CHECK! SOUND CHECK! WE ARE ALMOST ON AIR! DOES EVERYBODY HEAR ME!... GET THE LEAD OUT OF YOUR PANTS JOHNSON!” A figure rushed past Callie and almost knocked her out of the chair she dozed off on.
“Ohh sorry…” A young intern apologetically mumbled as Callie fell back onto the chair.
“Umm… no problem…” She searched the room for the loud voice and found a man in the very center of all the commotion with a megaphone.
Callie grumbled as she rubbed her eyes and managed to find Sharon standing next to one of the larger cameras. TO her surprise all the guys were already on the stage in front of her. “We were wondering if you were ever going to wake up.” Sharon laughed as she continued to focus on the commotion around her.
“Sorry, I went to bed a little late last night. Looking at it now, it wasn’t the ‘best’ idea…”
“You aren’t alone, Paul also seems to be exhausted…” That comment certainly woke Callie up. Sharon didn’t notice the flush of coloring that came over her face.
Sharon laughed again and Callie traded her a distracted smile. “And I’ve known Keith for too long, I can tell when he has had too much to drink the night before a performance!”
The same booming voice immediately echoed over the room. “OK NOW IS EVERYBODY READY?? WE ARE ON AIR VERY VERY SOON! JOHNSON!! WHERE ARE YOU… IS EVERYBODY READY THEN? OK, NOW, WE ARE ON IN FIVE…FOUR…THREE…”
An announcer seemed to appear on the monitor before Callie ever saw him on the stage.
“Thanks for that update Bob. And to our audience in the greater tri-state area I would like to introduce a very special addition to this morning’s news… All the way from across the pond is ‘Celtic Thunder!’”
The guys all mumbled their hellos and waved at the cameras. “Well thank you all for coming this morning!”
“We’re really happy to be here…” All the guys seemed to say at once.
The announcer turned back to the camera: “And in just a few minutes we are going to get to hear them perform!”
“So…” The announcer turned to Ryan at his left, “…is it true that you are just starting up a new tour in the States soon?” “Yes Yes… we ‘are just starting up our latest tour tomorrow night at Radio City Music Hall.”
“And tickets are still available for purchase!” Paul interjected. “Because if people keep coming to our concerts then I don’t have to go out and get a real job. Please don’t do that to me…”
Callie, Sharon, and all the guys seemed to roll their eyes at the same time as the announcer chuckled.
“And is this the same concert as last year?”
“We have some of the same older songs and many new songs for the fans to enjoy.” Ryan answered.
Keith interrupted. “It’s nice having the same crew and setup as we travel, we really all become good friends, it’s almost like a family away from home!”
Ryan continued: “Except of course this tour as I said we have some small changes and additions. And we can’t forget Sharon has a new lovely assistant!...Callie.”
If Callie was at all tired before, she was completely awake now as if she had been hit by lightning. Her eyes flew to Ryan’s slight smirk as he winked to her in front of the camera. She couldn’t help but try to hide her beat red face.
This time she could hear the announcer’s full laughter as he tried to continue with his next question.
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jun 28, 2010 14:51:54 GMT -5
After the guys had performed two songs they shuffled off the stage as a few of the lights dimmed.
“I can’t believe you did that Ryan!” Callie pushed his shoulder with all her strength, he barely moved.
“Ohh come on…” Ryan teased.
“No!” Callie started to stomp away.
Ryan caught up with her and wrapped one arm around her shoulder. “So you don’t like me calling you lovely?”
She turned to him; her face went back to the bright red color from earlier. “Not in front of millions of people, and fans!” His continued smirk told her he wasn’t convinced. “…and anyway you made me sound like a magician’s assistant!!... She tried to mock his earlier comment of ‘lovely assistant’.
“Well you must be magical because I've fallen under your spell… And you must be a great magician’s assistant because ever time I look at you, everyone else disappears.”
Callie tried to hide her smile but failed in response to his joke. “No Ryan…just no…” She giggled as she lifted his arm off her shoulder and caught up with the other guys making a last stop at the table with all the food.
...umm... cheesy pick-up lines + Ryan.... <3!!!
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jun 30, 2010 21:58:43 GMT -5
Everyone was outside the studio now. All the guys were once again signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. This impressed Callie, it all seemed so different from all other celebrities. But it was also hard for her to continuously imagine all the guys she had gotten to know so well being considered celebrities. Of course she knew how talented and funny they were. But she just knew them as close friends. And she feared that after their first performance that their friendship would be different. Right now she could see them with their fans, and just as with her, they were generous and completely friendly. Once their first concert happened tomorrow she would have to look at them like she was now: from far away.
Callie couldn’t help but let her mind wander as she leaned up against the taxi Sharon had called for. Every once in a while someone would wave at her and she would smile back. But it still didn’t seem the same.
“A penny for your thoughts?” Sharon said, interrupting her thoughts.
Callie faked a polite smile, “Ohh nothing…”
Sharon turned back to watch the guys being friendly with the fans, “They really are all that nice, and soo generous… I know they are always tired and hungry…” she laughed, “but they always insist that they spend time with their fans that wait for them!”
“No one else is like that in the business…”
“Nope, and that’s why I love all the lads so much, it’s why I choose ‘em…” Sharon traded another smile with her.
“Me too…” Callie seemed to catch herself before Sharon noticed what she said. She distractedly coughed into her shoulder and changed the subject. “So… I was thinking… I might head out right now and see the city a bit. It looks like the guys are gonna be a while longer and I think I might just walk back to hotel. Is that ok?”
“Of course it’s okay sweetie! But it’s a pretty long walk, are you sure?”
Callie couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she started walking off backwards down the sidewalk, “Yep! I’m sure. I can even stop by that newspaper on the way and talk to the reporter for you…”
Sharon called after her: “Thank you Callie! And please don’t get lost, I don’t want to have to call your mother and tell her I have lost you before the tour even starts…”
Ryan, Paul, and Keith turned around after hearing Sharon calling out. They all saw Callie attempting to hide a small smile as she waved at Sharon. To their surprise they saw her swiftly turn around and snuggle into her thin jacket as she walked off down the sidewalk with her hands in her pockets.
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 2, 2010 23:48:30 GMT -5
Callie wasn’t sure exactly what time it was when she got back to the hotel. It must have been around lunchtime because she could hear her stomach rumble as she walked into the room.
To her surprise Paul was standing in the middle of the lobby.
“Hey Paul!” He spun around with a wide grin on his face.”What are you doing down here?” She wondered.
“Well…” He distractedly fumbled with a cell phone in his hands, “I was actually waiting for you!”
“Ummm… really?” Callie couldn’t contain her slight questioning expression.
“Not like that… ummm… what I mean is…umm… I was talking to Sharon when you called her ‘bout and hour ago and you told her that you would be back in about an hour so I decided to come to the lobby…because…ummm…well… I’m taking my nephew jack out for ice cream and I thought you would want to come.” Paul ended his incredibly long-winded and nervous response with a deep breath.
Callie only stood there with her mouth slightly agape.
“Ummm…” She shook her head back and forth before smiling back at him. “Of course I would love to!”
He sighed in relief, “Well…PERFECT!”
Callie was slightly startled by his boisterous exclamation. “Let me just grab my jacket upstairs…”
As Callie started to walk away she heard Paul calling behind her, “Ohh, yes of course. No problem!”
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 3, 2010 0:01:27 GMT -5
Her mind was already spinning before she got on the elevator. She hated that she had agreed to this. Time and time again Callie enjoyed hanging out with all the guys but she couldn’t help but think it was her fault for always making things too complicated. She shook her head again, ignoring the stares she received from everyone else around her in the elevator. What was she doing again, probably over thinking everything... She had to remind what she told herself earlier this morning: that they were on tour now and everything was going to be different. All those emotions that seemed crushed inside of her head probably just led to her hoping that the guys were her good friends or even possibly had feelings for her.
When she got back to her room she had to splash water on her face before anything else. It seemed to shake her out of whatever strange and depressing mood she had been stuck in the last day.
Sharon was napping in bed after the long and early morning. Callie quickly wrote her a short note and placed it on her nightstand. Thankfully the reporter had graciously offered to interview the guys tonight and everything had worked out well. As she tip-toed out of the room Callie grabbed her large tan suede jacket (formally belonging to Keith) and hurried back towards the elevator.
Once again, as the door slid open, Callie was greeted by Paul who anxiously spun around with a large goofy grin. She couldn’t help but smile back and link arms with him in the lobby.
“So what have you been up to today, love?” His eyes seemed to twinkle as he looked down at her and patted her lone hand in his. She could only cough at the all too familiar pet name he seemed to throw around all too often when she was around.
“Ohh nothing much. I just walked around the city a bit…oh and I got to talk to a reporter…I managed to shorten the sound check this afternoon for everybody!”
Paul didn’t seem to pick up on the good news and gave her a sly smile, “…you didn’t get lost did you?”
“Oh come on Paul you have to have more faith in me than that! In fact, for your information, I didn’t get lost at all!”
He looked skeptically at her, “Really??”
“Well” she rolled her eyes and joked, “it doesn’t matter because I found my way in the end. Some lovely thugs stole my wallet and I managed to chase them back to a street near the hotel.” She winked at him. “And amazingly I even got my wallet back in the end too!” She pretended to hold her ribcage and smiled back up at him.
“OHH MY GOD!” He dropped her arm and stared at her in disbelief with his mouth agape. “Are you serious? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you? Are you ok?” He practically spun her around looking for any apparent missing limbs.
Callie couldn’t hold back her laughter and stared at him in utter disbelief too. “Are YOU serious?” He didn’t respond. “No Paul! I’m completely okay! I was just joking…actually for once I didn’t get lost.” She hesitated while waiting for his response and instead rolled her eyes and sarcastically said: “I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m not as incapable as everyone might think…”
An expression of fear seemed to be frozen on his face, no matter how sarcastic or unrealistic the original joke was. Then, without notice, he picked her off the ground into a tight hug. Callie could feel one of Paul’s strong hands entwined in her hair and cradling her head against his chest. She could feel the stubbles of hair on his cheek as he whispered into her ear: “You scared me…”. He slightly released her from his supporting grasp and held her away from him as he seriously said: “please don’t do that… please don’t scare me like that…”
Callie was completely taken aback and didn’t know what to say. “Umm… I’m sorry…I didn’t know… I mean… I umm…didn’t know.”
“It’s okay it’s okay.” He gave her a shaky smile and offered her his arm again. She slowly took it and once again he patted her lone hand in his and he looked down at her.
Just then the elevator opened up behind them and a small figure darted to Paul’s other side.
“Uncle Paul!” The small child yelled as Callie’s arm fell by her side as Jack was lifted up into the air by Paul. “Guess what, guess what! I rode the elevator all by myself, mommy let me!”
Callie was surprised at how sudden everything had happened only moments before, it all seemed like a dream now.
Paul was back to his normal self by now and was playing along, “I know your mommy texted me telling me you would be right down! She told me too keep a lookout for you!” He covered one eye and placed Jack back on the ground.
The young boy immediately turned his attention to Callie. “Callie! Callie! I didn’t know you were coming. Are you coming…if you aren’t coming will you ppplllleeeaaassseeee come! PLLLEEAASSE!!”
“Ohh thank you very much for inviting me Jack I would absolutely love to come!” She smiled at him and then Paul.
Paul looped his elbow around Callie’s free arm and offered his hand to the young boy standing next to him. “You know you have to hold my hand on the way there, right Jack?”
“But I wanna hold Callie’s hand too!!” Immediately he ran and broke the link between their arms. “See Uncle Paul! Now I’m extra extra safe when crossing the street!”
Callie couldn’t hold back her laughter as they started to head out of the lobby.
It didn’t take long for them to get to the ice cream shop. Considering it was only lunchtime it wasn’t too crowded and the three of them got in line.
“So what type of ice cream do you like Jack?” Callie asked.
“I really really like chocolate ice cream.”
“Me too!” She looked up at Paul and smiled.
“But guess what…” Jack stuck his tongue out in the air, “Uncle Paul likes vanilla ice cream without any toppings at all!”
“Ohh the heresy!” She tried to hide her giggle.
“Hey!” Paul turned around from in front of them with a skeptical smile. ”Are you two talking about me?”
“Nope.” Callie responded.
“Yep! I was telling her…” Jack immediately forgot was he was saying and ran up to the counter. His face barley peered over the edge at the young female clerk.
“And what can I get you today little mister?”
“Chocolate ice cream with two scoops in a cone with every type of topping!”
Callie looked at Paul in hysterical disbelief, but he only shook his head and smiled, “I did promise him I suppose…”
Paul and Callie got ice cream and just as they were about to find a seat the clerk politely got their attention. “I just wanted to say… You are the most adorable family I have ever seen!”
Paul and Callie almost dropped the ice cream cones they were holding.
Paul was the first that got the voice to speak, “Umm no… sorry…umm…see, he’s my nephew…and…”
Callie spoke up quickly, “…we’re just friends…” She let her empty hand rest on the counter and unfortunately placed it right on top of Paul’s hand. They both blushed and pulled away.
“Are you two coming!! I found a table!” Jack called from the other side of the room. He had found a small little circular table closest to the window.
As Paul and Callie approached him they could see him try to catch every topping falling off the edges of the melting ice cream.
“Is it tasty?” Callie asked cheerfully as she sat down.
“Yup! It’s really really yummy… thank you Uncle Paul!” “Jack, do you want me to tell you a secret?” Callie leaned into the little boy.
“MMMHHMMM” he mumbled as he held his ice cream closer to his mouth.
“The secret is that if you get ice cream in a cup they give you more ice cream and toppings! Did you know that?”
His eyes were wide in amazement. “No…really?”
“Yep! But, there’s one catch, it’s not as fun to eat out of a bowl. Cones are always more fun, right?”
“Yes they are!” Jack answered with a cheerful smile as he continued once again to eat.
“Are you trying to convince my nephew it is ok to play with his food?”
“No NO!” Jack interrupted his teasing, “Uncle Paul you are silly… a vanilla ice cream eating silly person!!”
“Ohh Paul, I think he just told you off!” Callie giggled quietly as Paul and Jack seemed to share the same exact chuckle.
Jack unexpectedly took a bit of his ice cream on his finger and touched it to Paul’s noise. “See… silly uncle!”
Now Callie couldn’t stop laughing out loud completely. Paul expression changed from surprise to a very dangerous sly smile. Then almost as unexpectedly as before Paul took some ice cream and touched it to Callie’s nose.
“I can’t believe you just did that!” She brought her face close to his chocolate covered nose and giggled.
“Maybe I’m just trying to convince you that vanilla ice cream is quite delicious compared to all the other flavors…” He teased her with a coy smile.
She started to laugh but couldn’t help but notice her breathing becoming impossible as both of their eyes locked and became serious. Quite slowly they got closer and closer until Callie pulled back at distractedly looked at Jack who was staring at them.
He cocked his head to the side and said: “Are you and Uncle Paul dating? Because my mommy and grandma always are saying that Uncle Paul needs a girlfriend.”
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 3, 2010 23:31:05 GMT -5
After that everything else seemed quiet and awkward. Jack continued to talk on and on for the next couple minutes. But it was just as quiet between them on the walk back to the hotel too.
“Hey Uncle Paul do you think we could go in that toy store?” Jack asked twice after Paul distractedly didn’t respond.
“Oh…yes…yes of course.” For the first time in the last half hour he looked up from the ground and faced Callie. “Would you like to come with us, we won’t be long…” He looked heartbroken and completely embarrassed.
Callie tried to give him her most sincere smile, “I think I have to head back to the hotel now…” She bent down to the young boy’s height, “But it was very nice seeing you again Jack.” “It was a lot of fun with you Callie! We should have play date some time again!”
“Ohh I’ll make sure to do that some time after the tour ends, it is already on my calendar!” She winked at him.
“Yea… I had a good time too…” Paul interrupted and gave her a shaky smile.
“Well thank you very much for inviting me…” Callie got closer to Paul and gave him a big hug, hoping it would make things less awkward.
She could feel his arms hug her back. As she pulled away she placed a kiss on his cheek and turned to continue walking down the sidewalk.
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 3, 2010 23:33:30 GMT -5
Callie was so distracted by her own thoughts that she walked right past their hotel and had to retrace her steps.
Right as she was about to go through the doors she bumped into someone covered behind dozens of shopping bags.
“Ohh I am so so sorry miss!” Callie mumbled as she tried to catch the bags before they hit the ground.
The girl barely seemed to notice and giggled as she finished a text message. “No problem at all, it’s mostly clothes, and won’t be damaged so easily.”
Callie went to hand her the bags when she suddenly realized who it was in front of her.
“Ohh hi Callie! I’m so excited to have found you!”
“Hi Rebecca!... wait? Found me?”
“Yes! Yes! I was looking for you! Keith and I were going around the city a bit today and I was going to drop off these bags at the hotel. I think if you showed up he probably would have a heart attack out of excitement!”
“Really?? ... Wait what?”
“So do you want to come? We were going going to rifle through some antique stores and pawn shops now!”
This option seemed delightful to Callie. Not only would she distract herself, but she also would be able to hang out with Keith. She always felt the most comfortable with Keith, always.
And she hated to admit it to herself, but when Rebecca said Keith would be excited to see her she couldn’t help but smile.
“Ohh I would love to. But I doubt Keith would have a heart attack from excitement it I just randomly showed up…”
Rebecca tried to hide a guilty smile of someone who knows too much, “Well lets see then…”
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 9, 2010 23:01:09 GMT -5
They both walked down the sidewalk with linked arms and talking like old friends. Callie hadn’t realized how much she missed hanging out with her friends back home in Ireland. Of course she couldn’t talk about all the questions floating around in her head right now, but this was the nicest and least stressed out she had been in a long time.
“Ohh look! It’s Paul!” Rebecca’s comment brought Callie back to reality. And it was true, when she looked to where Rebecca was pointing she saw Paul through the large glass windows of the toy store.
“We probably shouldn’t bother him…” Callie blurted out. Rebecca turned to her with a questioning glare. “He looks like he is spending quaity time with his nephew…”
Rebecca seemed to agree completely and continued to pull Callie down the street. “You’re right. Anyway, I can’t wait to surprise Keith!”
The two of them got to a fun looking shop only a couple streets later. Immediately at the door Rebbeca turned around with a very serious expression and spoke to Callie. “Is it just me, or does that jacket look very familiar?”
Callie hesitated for a moment and nervously rolled up the large sleaves on the tan jacket. “Well…um…yes it should I suppose…” Callie took another deep breath and continued. “Your brother gave it to me…”
Rebecca immediately started laughing and her serious expression slid from her face as she winked at Callie. She quickly turned around and continued walking through the doors of the shop. Callie could only follow in confusion and relief.
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 18, 2010 21:11:47 GMT -5
for the record!!! i absolutely love that everyone who reads this wants her to end up with someone else!!! ** squeee** trust me, reading those comments made me not be able to stop writing this update!!! <3 <3
Rebbecca’s laughing didn’t seem to stop once she entered the shop. Callie was grateful that at least she didn’t seem angry about it at all though.
“What’s so funny sis?” A familiar voice called out. Immediately Callie noticed Keith there. He was behind a large box filled with hats and appeared to be excitedly digging through it. He hadn’t even looked up yet.
“Ohhh nothing.” Rebecca turned back to Callie and winked at her. “Except I do have a little surprise for you…”
“Ye, and what’s that?” He didn’t sound interested and stood up while holding the box in his arms, still not looking up.
“I brought someone…” Rebecca tried to hint.
“And who might that be?” Keith asked, still obviously distracted. It was just now that Callie noticed that Keith had two hats balanced on his head, and must have had them on for quite a long time. She couldn’t help but giggle softly to herself. Immediately Keith eyes flashed up at them.
“You know Callie right?” Rebecca teased. But Keith must not have heard his sister speak again because the moment his eyes flashed up to see Callie standing near the door of the shop he succumbed to abnormal clumsiness. He dropped the large box of hats and fell backwards trying to catch it again.
The box completely dropped its contents all over the floor. Keith eyes flashed up once again, this time from the ground, partially covered by a mound of hats. His face was completely red, and somehow one of the two hats had stayed on his head during the fall.
“See…” Rebecca teased. Insinuating her earlier prediction of Keith reacting to her showing up unannounced. Rebbecca approached Callie and held her arm to pull her farther into the store.
Callie could only continue the uninterrupted giggle from before.
“Well…umm…hi!” Keith said as he practically jumped up from the floor and started picking up all the hats.
“Hi Keith… We didn’t frighten you did we?”
“Ohh no, not at all… Just a bit surprised…” Keith attempted to give her a shaky smile and continued his task.
After he had finished, and after mumbling an apology to the nearby owner Keith turned to his sister. “You were late…” He tried to be serious, but completely failed.
“I’m always late, and I learned it from you!” She rolled her eyes and laughed as she turned to Callie. “When Mom calls him to supper he always reponds ‘coming’, and half the time he is going out to surf and comes back and hour later!”
“Hey! That’s a bit of an overexageration!” He insisted. But she just rolled her eyes again. “Well, I did say ‘just a bit’”.
“So did you find anything…while I was late?” Rebecca asked and motioned to the box.
“Yes! Yes of course.” He rushed back over to the box and picked something up that he had carefully placed on a nearby bench.
He tossed Rebbecca a pink and sparkling fedora.
“Ohh I absolutely love it!”
“Well I think I might know your taste by now sis!” Keith had the biggest smile Callie had ever seen on him.
Immediately after he turned to Callie with the same smile. “And I found something for you too!...I didn’t know you were going to be here, so I guess it can’t be a surprise … but…” He started walking towards her with one arm behind his back. When he reached her he just looked down with a deep breath a revealed a brightly colored object from behind his back.
In fact it wasn’t until he had taken one of her hand and placed it on the object that she had even looked away from his shining eyes and happy smile.
Her face turned to shock. “If you don’t like it that’s okay too…” Keith started stammering.
He carefully took her other hand and traced her fingers along the patterns of the fabric.
“It is just a hat. But I remembered that you once told me that your favorite painting was the painting…ummm…’starry night’…by, umm, that guy who cut his ear off…”
“…van gogh…” The name came bearly as a whisper from her throat.
“Yes! Him!...And this cap had the pattern of the painting that you liked so much, so I thought you might like it…”
Callie looked up at Keith through shimmering eyes. He immediately dropped her palm after uncoinciously tracing her fingers to the swirls and patterns of the fabric.
“You remembered??” Callie’s voice was quiet and raw.
“Of course I remembered! It was important to you—“ He was cut off by Callie throwing her arms around his neck.
He hesitantly hugged her back and let out a nervous breath that had clung to his throat ever since he had been surprised by her entrance. “Thank you…” She whispered into his ear.
He tried to respond but wasn’t able to even able to take a breath as she continued to hold onto him.
Callie let go after a little less than a minute and looked him in the eyes again. He was smiling even more than before. She bit her lip in response to the emotional way she had reacted and couldn’t help herself but move ever so closer and he did not same.
But out of the corner of her eye she saw Rebecca again. And immediately placed one hand on his chest as if to stop herself from moving further closer.
She smiled back up at Keith and then rushed past him where she pulled Rebecca to the box of hats.
“You can’t be the only one to pick out hats Keith…” Rebecca and Callie started to excitedly dig through the box. “And don’t you dare peak Harkin!” Callie turned around to playfully glare at him.
It didn’t take them long to agree on a hat for Keith.
As Callie started to walk back to where he was standing Rebecca spoke up from behind them. “For the record. My number one choice was the rainbow colored one with the helicopter on top.”
“Ok… I not sure if you will like it or not but--”
He interrupted her: “I’m sure I will love it!”
She stood on her toes and carefully placed it on his head, not noticing her body confortably leaning on his chest for balance.
He didn’t even look at the hat as Callie started talking. “It is a mixture of grays, blues, and greens…but mostly blue. It reminded me of the ocean!”
“And it’s plaid!” Rebecca piped up.
“And it’s a Fedora!” Callie continued!
“And it has a feather!” Callie ran to stand next to Rebecca as Keith went to look in the nearest mirror.
“I love it! It’s perfect! Absolutely amazing!” He could see their reflection in the mirror behind him.
“Thank you!” Keith went to them and gave both of them a hug before turning back to the mirror to look at the hat again. It was just then that Keith noticed Callie taking out her wallet from her bag. He spun around quickly. “Callie no… no I can’t.”
“Ohh come on Keith! I love that hat but I can’t except it! Just tell me how much it was and I will pay you back for it! You still found it for me!”
“No Callie I won’t! I really really can’t!” He motioned for her to put her wallet back in her bag. “Think of it like a present!”
“But you shouldn’t be giving me any presents…” The tension in the room seemed to grow.
“I’m not gonna tell you how much it is…” Keith tried to laugh, but failed.
Callie shook her head and smiled, “I will just have to ask the shop owner and pay you back when you least expect it!” She winked at him and started walking to the register.
“No!!” He practically screamed. “It’s a gift!”
She spun around to meet his very serious glare. “You shouldn’t be giving me a gift.”
“But Ryan did!” He screamed once again. Callie had never seen Keith like this! She had never seen his so serious and determined. Her breath caught in her throat as he continued. “Ryan bought you a gift! He bought you that shirt!” He pointed to the fitted celtics t-shirt underneath the tan jacket she wore. “He kept telling us all this morning in the taxi and the studio how he had bought it for you!” He took one large angry huff of a breath and continued. “You obviously like it! And …and… I wanted to get you something too…”
“If he could Ryan would buy a celtics t-shirt for everyone in the world to wear!”
Keith shook his head angrily as if she didn’t understand and turned away from her.
“He was really excited when you wore it this morning…” She didn’t respond. “Please, it is just a gift…”
“But, I shouldn’t… we are friends…”
He turned back around to face her with a sad expression.
“But we are good friends right?” He smiled slightly. “When is your birthday?”
“What are you talking about Keith?”
“Just when is it??”
“It was a couple months ago, a few weeks before I started working for Sharon.” She grumbled, trying to understand what he was getting at.
“Well just think of this like a late birthday present then…”
“I can’t…” She was about to start argueing again because it was the only thing she could think to do. By him remembering something like that, something she had simply added on to a conversion months earlier was too sweet. It was too sweet and to her it seemed dangerous, especially the way she reacted when she hugged him. She would not ever have let go if his sister hadn’t been standing behind him. And that affection she showed towards him unsettled her.
He pleaded one more time. “But this morning…” She turned back to face him and he was already standing in front of her. He carefully cupped her face in his hands. “…It was pretty cold out early in the morning and we drag you around everywhere with us. You didn’t have to come but you did anyway… As the tour goes on it is just going to get colder and colder, and you might need a hat.” She rolled her eyes, but he continued holding her face in his hands. He let out a deep breath and gave her one last smile. “This morning I was happy to, and I always will be you know, but I doubt Sharon would be very pleased if I give you my tuxedo jacket all the time…”
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 23, 2010 20:18:04 GMT -5
Callie took a single step back from Keith and his hands fell to his sides. She must not have been able to hide her shocked expression.
“You didn’t know?” He asked, sounding dejected.
Callie only shook her head slowly and looked at the floor. “But… thank you…”
“So you will keep the hat?” They were just barely whispering to each other right now…
She knew she should argue again…she wanted to but didn’t want to push him too far away. Callie looked up to see a faint smile appear on his face.
She immediately grabbed the blue hat off his head and walked over to the cashier.
By the time Callie looked back at him his smile was gone and his hair had fallen back onto his face. He didn’t bother moving the hair out of his eyes, it was displaced when Callie had taken the hat to disparage his gesture. He didn’t want to argue anymore. But he couldn’t help but feel even sadder than before.
She brought it back to him and crumpled a receipt into her jean pocket. “Thanks for the hat!”
“Thanks…” He repeated and looked towards the ground.
Just then Callie got a text message. It was just something from one of her friends at home. But Callie took this opportunity to avoid Keith, at least for now.
“Sharon needs me, I should probably get going now.” She went to go say goodbye to his sister.
“Thank you for inviting me Rebecca!” Callie said as she gave the girl a hug.
But Rebecca looked as sad as Keith had before. “I’m sorry.”
Callie pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, “What? What are you sorry about?”
“You two were fighting, I didn’t mean for that to happen… I just thought he would be happ--”
“It is not your fault at all! It’s mine!”
“But I’ve never seen him like that before…” Rebecca insisted.
Callie tried to smile but failed and felt her voice choke up. “Don’t worry about it. We’re all friends, and everything is okay now.”
She turned away and started heading to the door before she walked back to Keith.
“Thank you…” She said slowly. Callie gave him a hug goodbye. Keith had always been someone Callie had felt comfortable with. He was the same man she that had comforted and sang to her on the beach as they lay together. He was the one that held her hand when they had gone back to work the next day, and he was the same friend that she laid on the couch with at the guy’s house. A time when she could look up at him from a very comfortable position in his lap and quietly hide any and all feelings.
But this hug did not last long, and she pulled away before he even had a chance to wrap his arms around her. He hesitated, but when he turned around she was already out the door and all he heard was a slight bell ringing at her departure.
Callie had nothing to do for a couple hours. She headed back to the hotel and decided to go up the stairs. Somehow trying to relive the earlier night when she had chased Keith up them, and then he chased her. After only the first flight she gave up and angrily ran the rest of the way up.
Her room was dark when she got there. The blinks were shut and Callie decided to angrily throw Keith’s tan jacket off her. She crawled onto her bed and cursed herself as the jacket hit the wall and crumbled to the ground. She argued with herself to go pick it up. After ten minutes she managed to get off the bed and throw it over the back of a chair. It didn’t take Callie long after that to immediately fall into a deep sleep.
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 24, 2010 19:48:46 GMT -5
Callie woke up in a groggy state. The way you feel after sleeping harder than you have in months, or years. She was surprised to turn over and see the clock only said 5:30. That meant she had only been asleep for three hours at the most.
Callie sat up in her bed and noticed the tan jacket folded neatly at the edge of the mattress. She managed to pull herself down to it and was not surprised to notice a paper note on top of it.
“Got back and didn’t want to wake you. I’m going to rehearsal with the guys and crew. The reporter you spoke with earlier should be there. But feel no need to rush down to the theatre; I insist that you sleep more! Also Phil should be flying in soon, if he calls you at all let him know everyone is at the theatre! sweet dreams, Sharon"
Callie let her fingers trace the familiar script on the paper, also letting her palm rest on the jacket for a moment. It didn’t take her long to get ready and rush out the door.
It was overcast outside, dull and dark during the early evening. She tried to not let the weather remind her of being back home. The hard cement and grumbling tired looking people passing her in the street helped her to not get any more homesick. Only a certain type of person could love this rain and depressing weather as much as the sun on one’s face.
It may have been New York City but she walked slowly, slow enough to feel the small raindrops drip down her damp hair. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and was surprised to find the hat from earlier. Callie supposed it shouldn’t have surprised her to fit in the pocket of the jacket that had always seemed so incredibly comfortably large on her.
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Jul 24, 2010 20:56:06 GMT -5
Everyone was busily working through the rehearsals and their own exhaustion. Whether it was from being at the studio early in the morning or from the party the night before everyone seemed to want to leave. But they knew this was their last chance to practice before the first big show tomorrow at Radio City to start off the tour.
Just as Sharon had said the rehearsals were shortened by the arrival of the reporter. He appeared in the theatre with a loud bang of the doors opening, flooding light into the room.
“Ohhh I’m so happy you could come.” Sharon said, gesturing to the stage.
He walked down the aisle with his arms outstretched in an awkwardly confident gesture. He wore a tight black suit and had his hair slicked back. “My pleasure Mrs.Brown, truly my pleasure.” He winked.
“I’d like to introduce you to the members of Celtic Thunder.” By this time all the guys had come up to where the two were standing. “This is Damian, Keith, Paul, Ryan, and George. And lads, this is Mr. Smoote from the New York Times. He writes and the entertainment column.”
“Ohh please call me Charles.” He shook everyone’s hand. “Nice to meet you all, and now I’m afraid we have to get down to the dirty work.” He clapped his hands together and took out a notepad and pen.
“So you got to the city how long ago?”
“Just a couple days ago.”
“So ya haven’t been here long aye?” Charles Smoote looked up.
“Well we have toured around here before, and always have spent as much time in the city as possible.”
“Well of course. Because everyone loves my city.” He looked back down and laughed at his own comment.
“So what is it like being on tour? The nitty gritty? The good, the bad?” He asked.
“We actually love it! All of us really do enjoy what we do.” Keith answered.
“Really?” Charles Smoote looked up skeptically.
“Well… yes… of course it is hard to leave our friends and family but they understand how much our music means to us.”
At that moment a small streak of light fell down the aisle as the door opened again. Callie tried to sneak on quietly.
“I told you that you could have a break tonight dear.” Sharon said.
“Awe you know I rarely take breaks from work, I love it too much!”
“Hello Miss Callie!” Charles Smoote called out to her, even though she had already reached them.
“So nice to see you again Mr. Smoote!”
“Once again, feel free to call me Charles.” He pulled her in and kissed both her cheeks and winked.
“We were just starting with the interview, and we are happy you came. I’m a workaholic just the same.” He gave everyone a smooth cheesy smile and looked down at his notepad again.
“So what were we talking about before the room became a bit brighter?”
It took a moment for some of the guys to absorb all that had just happened in the confusion.
“We were talking about being on tour and missing our friends and families.” Damian piped up.
“Ohh yes. Yes of course…I could imagine having any kind of romantic relationships would be hard?”
“Well I’m the only one of the lads here that is married, and I also have a little girl named Sarah. Of course it is hard a lot of the time but they visit every couple of weeks. And then when I am not touring I get to spend every minute with them which is fantastic! And Damian has a girlfriend too. He could probably talk about that!”
“Ya, I’ve been going out with someone. We talk a lot and she gets to visit sometimes.”
“Anyone else?” Smoote asked. “How about you, Callie you are new to touring, what are your opinions?”
“Well I know some of the musicians are married or engaged.”
“And what about you?”
“Ohh…umm…well I broke up with my boyfriend before the tour to make things easier. Not everyone is ready for a relationship between people that are separated for long periods of time!” She tried to smile sincerely but failed.
“And what about the rest of the guys then?” He turned to Keith, Ryan, and Paul then back to Callie to answer.
“Ummm…actually I’m not sure. I wouldn’t be the one to ask.”
Charles Smoote turned back to the guys and raised one very large and discretely manicured eyebrow. “Sooo?”
“Well we’re all single.” Paul answered.
“Ya! Single, free, young.” Keith chuckled.
The interview continued for almost thirty more minutes. Charles Smoote decided only to leave once one of his three pagers started beeping and echoing throughout the theatre.
“This was great thank you guys.” He shook all their hands again.
“And thank you for having me ladies. I had a lovely time.” He took both their hands and kissed them.
He started walking away but turned halfway down the aisle and called out. “I’ll see you later, right Miss Callie?”
*hides in corner*
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Aug 6, 2010 20:21:01 GMT -5
Once the reporter left everyone excitedly started to leave. Just as Sharon had said, the final practice was going to be shortened.
“Callie!” Ryan called out after her after following her out of the theatre. “Callie, please stop…hold up…”
“I told you Ryan, I’m a little busy right now. I’m late and I still have to go back to the hotel to get ready.” Callie said as she continued to walk away.
“Please!!” Ryan grabbed her arm and she spun around with a glare.
“What?” She screamed back. “What’s so important that can’t wait till later or tomorrow?”
He quickly dropped her arm apologetically. Callie’s response was more angry than he was used to with her.
“Well??” She insisted. He only hesitated and she grumbled something and started to walk off again.
He had to jog to keep up with her stride in the hallway outside the theatre. “You know why!”
She turned around quickly again. “You’re ridiculous…you know that right?”
He seemed taken aback, “Really? I’m ridiculous?” But he shook it off and tried to chuckle. “You know why I wanna talk…”
She pretended to think. “Nope…can’t think of any reason.”
“You’re going out with that reporter!” She had a confused expression. “That Smoote guy…”
“He likes to be called Charles!” She insisted.
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Are you serious? You’ve known him for like an hour!”
“I met him this morning Ryan…”
“Well wow! My apologies!! You met him this morning…” He blurted out sarcastically.
“What is this all about anyway? I think I can take care of myself…” Callie hadn’t expected this. In fact she had flinched when Charles Smoote had called back to her in the theatre. She had hoped that some of the guys wouldn’t know she was going out tonight.
“Well I doubt that very much!!!” He shouted back.
“Hey! What’s your problem? I’ve done nothing wrong have I? Why are you angry at me?” Callie hadn’t been able contain her anger and shouted back. The building was practically empty right now anyway.
“I’m not angry!!” He huffed and turned his back to her.
“Wait!” Callie let a little smile trace her lips. “You aren’t jealous are you?”
He spun back around to meet her. “Of course I am!!”
She was surprised that he would be that brutally honest to her teasing; and she felt her heart drop. “I didn’t—what I mean is—I didn’t want you to even know. I promise.”
He didn’t respond.
“It’s not what you think. That’s why I didn’t want anyone to know—I’m going to dinner with him and Phil. Charles wanted to meet Phil and interview him.”
“And then why are you going at all?”
“Because I am trying to be polite. He asked me to go because it makes the interview more comfortable than if it was just him and Phil!”
Ryan rolled his eyes again. “And you believed that slicked back slime of a reporter?”
“I couldn’t exactly say no to him. And he seems nice, harmless enough…”
“You just shouldn’t go …call him up and tell him your plans changed.”
“I can’t do that Ryan, that’s ridiculous…I’m going out to dinner with Charles and Phil. It will be a night full of small talk and food, that’s it.”
Ryan shook his head, and Callie just turned and continued heading to the doors to get back to the hotel.
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essie
Fantastic Fan
Posts: 159
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Post by essie on Aug 7, 2010 21:52:41 GMT -5
Callie was already running late as she stood in front of the mirror. She had attempted to pull back her hair but as always a long strand fell by her face. She hoped her long red tight-fitted dress would hide her distress.
Callie nervously tucked the strand of hair behind her ear and stared in the mirror one more time. She grunted and looked away, comepletely unsatified at her appearance.
“One bad thing…one bad thing…” Callie repeated to herself softly as her hand rested on the doorknob. “It only takes one thing for a reporter to twist into lies.” She tried to shake that out of her head, what had Ryan made her believe? All of a sudden she wasn’t trusting a nice and innocent man she barely knew.
She opened the door, still distracted by her own thoughts.
“Hey!” said a familiar voice.
Callie couldn’t think of a thing to say; her mouth was agape.
“Ready to go?” Ryan leaned against the opposite wall in a dark black suit and a grin on his face.
“Wha—Wha—What do you think you are doing here?” She started walking down the hallway.
“Ohh I didn’t tell you? I was talking to Phil a little earlier and I was telling him how much I would love to do something tonight…ya know, to occupy myself before the big show.”
Callie scoffed and bumped into Ryan’s shoulder angrily with her own on purpose as he tried to keep up with her stride.
“Well…” he chuckled. “Phil suggested I come tonight…” Ryan turned to see Callie’s expression. “And of course I said yes!!”
“Have I told you that you are ridiculous lately??”
“Owe, I’m hurt.” Ryan mockingly put his hand to he chest as if to protect himself from a blow.
The two of them stopped in front of the elevator.
Ryan waited for her to look up and sneer at him again. “Well have I told you that you look absolutely stunning lately?”
The elevator door opened and Callie hurried in, trying to get as far away from him as possible as she tried to control her fuming anger.
Ryan stood in front of the buttons and turned back to Callie with a smile. “Going down Miss?”
“What’s your problem Ryan?” Callie scoffed. He quickly hit the first floor button and turned back to her apologetically.
“Sorry…”
“You didn’t answer me! What’s your problem?”
He hesitated. “Nothing…nothing.”
Callie shook her head with a disgusted expression on her face.
Ryan looked around as if to check no one was there, even though obviously no one was, except for them.
“Look. It’s nothing personal. I promise. It has nothing to do with you…”
Callie turned to him, surprised. “What?”
“It has nothing to do with you!” He himself was surprised at what he was saying right now. “Don’t worry…” Ryan winked, “I’ve been over you for a while now!”
Without a chance for either of them to say anything else door opened and Ryan looped his arm into Callie’s and led her into the lobby.
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